


Light At The End Of The World

by DGCatAniSiri



Category: Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Genre: M/M, Pre-Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-25
Updated: 2017-12-25
Packaged: 2019-02-20 14:20:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,886
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13148466
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DGCatAniSiri/pseuds/DGCatAniSiri
Summary: As the Companions stop to camp for the night, Vilkas hears their newest member sing.





	Light At The End Of The World

**Author's Note:**

> Nightwish has always had a tendency to make me think of Skyrim, so I felt like honoring them with a song of theirs placed in-universe. The one in specific here is "[The Islander](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=--tFFz44zvc)."
> 
> This utilizes my same Dragonborn from "[The Changing Seasons](http://archiveofourown.org/works/6072670)" and "[Steel Your Heart](http://archiveofourown.org/works/7761802)", though, as Vilkas and Autem have not married yet in this fic, it's obviously a prequel.

They were close to the tomb of Ysgrammor. They knew it. They were nearly there. Yet exhaustion and hunger drove them to pause. The journey from Whiterun and Jorrvaskr had been long to this point, it simply wasn’t practical for them to not stop. Not as they made their way north, into the frozen tundra of the coldest regions in Skyrim, places where the snow never melted and the ice was thick enough one could likely build on it. 

Kodlak could wait another day if the alternative was that those who were doing this for him wouldn’t freeze to death before giving him the chance he needed to reach Sovngarde. 

Aela had set about gathering the four of them something to eat, while Vilkas and Farkas set about establishing a camp. That left the fourth member of their group, Autem, the Slayer of the Glenmoril Witches, to secure the site from Skyrim’s wildlife. The sabre cats were the worst, but even the horkers could have been a concern. Establish a perimeter, kill or scare off the beasts whose territory they’d encroached on, and still keep watch through the night. 

Normally, Vilkas wouldn’t trust such a task to a whelp, the most recent admission to the Companions. No matter what Kodlak had said about him, the Breton was young, he was new, he was...

Well, he’d slain the hagraven witches who the burning of their heads in Ysgrammor’s tomb would allow Kodlak to go to Sovngarde, rather than remain among Hircine’s hunt for eternity. And Kodlak himself had wanted to bring the whelp... the lad closer.

Kodlak had even spoken to Vilkas about it, when Vilkas had expressed concern about how quickly Kodlak seemed to be giving him rank and privilege among the Companions. The old man had been silent for a while after Vilkas had ranted and raved about him, only to smile with that mischievous gleam in his eye and suggest that there might well be more to the Breton. And he’d said so in such a way that had implied that he believed there to be more to Vilkas’s thoughts of him as well. 

Just thinking about the idea made Vilkas let out a scoff – the old man had clearly had too much mead, had been seeing things. 

Evening fell fast upon them, and Aela returned with a good selection of fish. Vilkas was almost disappointed that Autem couldn’t provide them any fresh horker meat, but he hadn’t encountered any in his brief patrol. Still, one fewer threat was one fewer threat – the last thing they needed was to be ambushed by something, animal or bandit, during the night. Not that they wouldn’t have someone on watch either way, but...

The fire was used to roast the fish enough to eat, a task that passed in relative silence. Boisterous stories were reserved for the halls of Jorrvaskr. While on a task, particularly a duty such as this one, they kept silent and respectful. With the fate of Kodlak on all of their minds, speaking exaggerated tales of their heroism and bravery was not a priority for anyone. 

Autem ended up drawing the lot for the first watch. The Breton seemed content with that, mentioning that he could function with little sleep anyway. Apparently he’d had to watch his own back for an extended period of time. 

“Maybe you should offer a few tales,” Farkas said.

“I think we’re all a little old for bedtime stories,” Aela said, though there was no bite to her words. She had a duty, a purpose, a reason for being here, and she wanted to see it accomplished as quickly as possible, without distraction. Likely, Vilkas thought, she even had a touch of displeasure at their goal – she would comfortably join Hircine’s hunt one day. 

Vilkas was... less sure. Kodlak wished for Sovngarde, and Kodlak had been one of the most honorable men Vilkas had ever known. 

He would worry about that later – this was Kodlak’s quest, done in his name, in his honor. If he did decide that he wanted to leave the hunt, he could always return here later. 

Somehow, despite the whirling thoughts in Vilkas’s head, before too long, he’d managed to fall asleep, as, by the time he awoke, it was the dead of night. Out here, the auroras managed to light up the night sky, a light that shone into his tent, even with the dying embers of the fire.

As Vilkas attempted to roll over, collect a little more sleep before his watch – he’d agreed to take the shift after Aela’s, and expected to take over for Farkas as well, which meant he should get his rest while he could – he began to hear something. It took him a moment to realize that, rather than some encroaching predator, it was a stringed instrument, someone playing a melody.

Knowing that Aela couldn’t carry a tune to save her life, and that Farkas had never tried his hand at an instrument that wasn’t originally designed to remove limbs, he realized it must be Autem. At first he felt a flash of anger – he was supposed to be on watch, minding their camp for any who would attempt to ambush them. But that lessened as he realized that it was a way of warning those who’d come across them, with the signs of a group in the camp, that there were those willing to fight back. It wasn’t the way that Vilkas normally expected his companions to handle an evening watch, but, as he’d repeatedly seen, Autem was not like usual companions.

The melody continued, and Vilkas began to simply... listen as Autem began to sing.

_An old man by the seashore_  
At the end of day  
Gazes the horizon  
With sea winds in his face 

_Tempest tossed island_  
Seasons all the same  
Anchorage unpainted   
And a ship without a name... 

Vilkas didn’t recognize the song, but there was something haunting and beautiful about it. Beyond just the lyrics, Vilkas could hear something in Autem’s voice, a gentle passion. The song meant something to him. 

_Sea without a shore_  
For the banished one unheard  
He lightens the beacon  
Light at the end of world 

_Showing the way_  
Lighting hope in their hearts  
The ones on their travels  
Homeward from afar... 

There was a soft rustling from the next tent over – Aela was stirring. Vilkas only just restrained himself from trying to shush her, not wanting Autem to stop. But, if the other man heard her waking up, he paid her no mind.

She poked her head out of the tent, glancing between first Autem, the source of the noise, then Vilkas, who she likely heard moving around as well.

_This is for long forgotten_  
Light at the end of the world  
Horizon crying  
The tears he left behind long ago... 

Seeming to recognize the lack of a threat, Aela clearly seemed to relax. She glanced again to Vilkas, who had let himself listen to Autem’s song once more, and she got a look in her eye. Vilkas would likely have questioned her over it had he not been certain it would stop Autem singing. Without him willing to speak up, Aela seemed to take that as confirmation of whatever it was she was thinking and returned to her tent, accepting that there was no threat that demanded her attention.

Vilkas continued to listen as Autem sang. He could certainly teach Mikael at the Bannered Mare a few things about how to sing and perform and enrapture an audience, though maybe Hulda preferred him like he was so that people would buy more mead. But Autem’s voice was... enthralling. Enrapturing. 

Perhaps Vilkas would have to concede the point to Kodlak. There was something about the Breton... But this was far from the proper time for such thoughts. That wasn’t what they were here for.

_The albatross is flying_  
Making him day dream  
The time before he became  
One of the world’s unseen 

_Princess in the tower_  
Children in the field  
Life gave him it all  
An island of the universe... 

Vilkas couldn’t help a small smile as he listened to Autem’s voice, and found himself unable to keep from curling up in the furs of his tent. The sound of the gentle music was almost like a lullaby.

***

“We heard you last night.”

Aela never did like to beat around the bush.

The Breton flushed at the remark, apparently having been unaware of the audience he’d had the previous night. “I, uh... Sorry. I know I was supposed to be on watch...”

But Aela shrugged. “We weren’t attacked, and we’re not on a hunt. Since we survived the night, it’s nothing to worry about.” Had there been a bandit attack, of course, her reaction might have been different. But that hadn’t been a concern, so... 

Then, Aela surprised Vilkas by offering the Breton a gentle smile. “You have a nice voice, friend.” It was seldom that Aela was free with praise, and Vilkas was surprised to hear it. 

More... He felt a flash of jealousy at the very idea that Aela and Autem might... 

A glance at Aela said he was right to suspect her – she wasn’t truly interested in Autem, just tweaking Vilkas, for the fact that he had feelings for the other man. He scowled, knowing that she was trying to provoke a response, and her plan, such as it was, was working. 

Autem didn’t seem to recognize the interplay happening between Aela and Vilkas, simply returning the smile she’d offered him. “Thank you. I’ve... spent some time at the Bard’s College.” Vilkas knew that he’d traversed the province a few times since arriving in Whiterun and joining the Companions. It wasn’t surprising to hear he’d been there. Still... He was clearly a talented man. 

“I don’t think I’ve heard that song before,” Vilkas managed to say. It was shameful how difficult he seemed to find it to speak more to Autem. He surely could manage more than just that, couldn’t he?

“It was something that my parents used to sing to me. They always said it was a sad song, but... It’s always reminded me of them, so... It hasn’t felt so sad.” 

Vilkas found he could appreciate that. He and Farkas had had only each other for so long, but... if he’d had something that tied their parents back to them, they could easily have come to see a song like that. 

A rumble from Farkas’s stomach put the conversation aside – they needed to eat, and then they’d proceed on to Ysgrammor’s Tomb. It would be a difficult task yet – the tomb had not been entered in a long time. There were likely still traps waiting for them, along with any manner of beasts.

And, Vilkas decided, when they had finished the task they had set about to accomplish... Then there would be time to unravel the feelings he had for Autem. To tell him that... He wished for something more. Perhaps... Well. He would wait on that. He knew enough tales to feel that an admission of these feelings could result in something happening to them. The danger at the tomb was most certainly real, so he felt no desire to tempt it.

After, though... After, there would be plenty of time.


End file.
